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For many barbeque lovers there is nothing better than the pit barbeque. Grilled meats and cuts cooked in giant smokers can be nice but a chunk of pork or beef that?s spent the last twelve to fourteen hours cooking in seasoning and its own juices just can not be beat.
The pit was indeed the original barbeque. Before the Civil War in the United States pork in the form of whole hogs was cooked in pits widely across the South. In Texas and the American West similarly cooked sides of beef were the tradition.
The idea of the pit is simple. A hole is dug in the ground big enough accommodate the meat and a large amount of coals. The hole is then lined with stones or bricks which serve to even out the spread of the heat as well as to radiate their own heat creating an evenly cooked peeve of meat.
The pit is then filled with wood and logs which are burnt down to hot glowing coals. It takes quite a lot of coals to properly cook in a pit so this can be an all day project. Today many pit barbequers opt for charcoal.
The meat must be wrapped in a protective package to keep it from becoming hopelessly scorched. Everything from banana leaves to burlap sacks and chicken wire have been used to accomplish this. Actually almost anything can be used that can be wetted or comes with its own moisture as in the case of the leaves and will provide adequate protection for the meat.
Next the meat is placed directly on the coals, covered to trap the heat and keep out oxygen and left for twelve or more hours, usually overnight. Like the wrapping, the covering can be pretty much anything that will affectively carry out the two tasks mentioned above. Dirt works particularly well but creates a messy situation later when the meat has to be dug out from the hot coals.
Nothing beats the meat from a well-done pit barbeque.
For more information about grilling and barbequing check out http://bbq_and_grill.diamondrocket.com/ where you can find more information about http://bbq_and_grill.diamondrocket.com/U_20912_Pit_Barbequeing.asp barbequing including specific instructions and tips for building your own pit.
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